


the sun does not abandon the moon to darkness

by littlelamplight



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Post Bad Magic, hecate needs some soft, literally DECADES of confinement, pippa gives the soft, so general warnings for like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 10:07:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18221696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlelamplight/pseuds/littlelamplight
Summary: The storm arrives abruptly. It cuts across the sunlight filtering in through the great windows in the dining hall, turning everything dark and grey, but Mildred doesn’t look up from her rapidly cooling soup. After a moment, light floods the darkness as one of the teachers lights the candles lining the wall, and Mildred tilts her spoon to stare at her reflection blankly.She doesn’t really feel like eating.Pippa hears about the confinement, and is not happy.





	the sun does not abandon the moon to darkness

**_the sun does not abandon the moon to darkness_ **

 

“To love is to be vulnerable; and it is only in vulnerability and risk—not safety and security—that we overcome darkness.” 

― Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time

* * *

  
  


The storm arrives abruptly. It cuts across the sunlight filtering in through the great windows in the dining hall, turning everything dark and grey, but Mildred doesn’t look up from her rapidly cooling soup. After a moment, light floods the darkness as one of the teachers lights the candles lining the wall, and Mildred tilts her spoon to stare at her reflection blankly. 

 

She doesn’t really feel like eating. 

 

‘Millie?’

 

Mildred glances up. A flash of forked lightning turns Maud’s glasses white and reflective, and she says softly, ‘you okay?’ 

 

Mildred shrugs. Enid nudges her arm gently, and murmurs, ‘were you mirroring your Mum?’

 

Mildred nods, because she’d rather not tell them the truth. That she just didn’t feel like speaking to her Mum, that she wanted to see a friendly, adult face, that she needed to tell  _ someone  _ about what had happened. She’s been feeling weird ever since Miss Pentangle abruptly ended the conversation, and she doesn’t want to talk about it. 

 

There’s a clap of thunder that sounds perilously close, and Enid cranes her back with an alarmed look. ‘It sounds like it’s right above us’. 

 

The ground beneath them seems to tremble, and Maud’s eyes go very wide behind her spectacles. ‘That’s not… normal, right?’

 

The great doors to the dining hall tremble, the hinges glow hot, and they swing open with a crackle of lightning that sizzles blue along the wood. Miss Pentangle stands in the doorway, white crackling along the edges of her dress, and for a wild moment, Mildred wonders if she’s been struck by lightning. 

 

Miss Pentangle blinks, her eyes oddly bright in the shadows, and turns her head to meet her gaze. Mildred has never seen her look like this, so foreboding that she almost resembles Miss Hardbroom, but something in her face softens, and she beckons. Mildred gets up without thinking twice, hurrying over among the whispers of other students until she reaches her side. 

 

Miss Pentangle looks down at her, and despite the energy crackling around her, her voice is gentle when she says, ‘I’m sorry I cut our conversation short, Mildred’. 

 

Mildred swallows, a little in awe of the magic radiating off her, a little unsure of how unlike her usual self she seems, and very self conscious of how everyone is staring. ‘It’s okay’, she mumbles, ‘you were busy’. 

 

‘Not really’, Miss Pentangle says, her voice almost light, ‘I just decided it’d be best if I came here immediately’. The woman brushes her fingers over her shoulder, and warmth seeps into her shoulders. ‘It was no bother, really’. 

 

Mildred opens her mouth, and Miss Hardbroom winks into existence beside them. Her brows are furrowed tightly, and Mildred shuffles backwards slightly. Miss Hardbroom looks at Miss Pentangle with something close to alarm, and says, ‘Pippa? Are you alright?’

 

Miss Pentangle inhales sharply, and thunder rumbles overhead. Her fingers curl into fists, and light crackles along her knuckles. ‘I need to talk to you, Hecate’. 

 

Miss Hardbroom shoots Mildred a look, and Mildred nods. Miss Pentangle glances at her quickly, and says softly, ‘I’ll talk to you later, Mildred’. 

 

Mildred nods again, and dashes back to her seat beside Enid. She watches the two teachers leave, and another flash of lightning illuminates the great hall. There’s a scoff, and Mildred turns her head to see Ethel watching her. ‘What did you do now, Mildred Hubble?’

 

Mildred feels a flash of anger that rings as loud as the storm in her head, and snaps, ‘the right thing’. 

 

* * *

 

Pippa didn’t mean to bring the storm with her, but it gathered above her school as she mounted her broom, and followed in her wake when she took to the skies. It trailed along behind her like a stream of smoke, gathered to surround her just as Cackles came into view on the horizon, but it didn’t harm her. It crackled around her like the anger boiling in her blood, curled over her skin until she saw white at the edges of her vision, but maybe it was red, red like the anger that chokes her now. 

 

They’ve transferred to Hecate’s room, away from prying eyes, and Hecate is watching her with something that might be concern. Pippa knows she’s acting differently than usual, that she’s not wearing the smile most people have come to expect from her. She knows, and yet she still can’t manage to make her mouth form a greeting. 

 

Lightning flashes outside, turning Hecate a pale, chalk white, and Pippa lets out a shaky breath. ‘I’m sorry for turning up so abruptly’. 

 

Hecate’s eyes flicker to the window behind her, and she says, ‘this is quite different from the last time you visited’. 

 

Pippa tries to smile, but the corner of her mouth twitches in what feels like more of a grimace. Hecate blinks, her brow furrowing, and says, ‘something has happened’. 

 

It’s not a question, and Pippa nods again. Hecate takes a small step closer, and says, ‘is something wrong?’ 

 

‘Yes’. So  _ much  _ is wrong, but Hecate doesn’t seem to have picked up  _ why _ she’s upset. She wouldn’t, of course. ‘I…’ she licks her lips, and says, ‘I spoke with Mildred’. 

 

Hecate’s eyes narrow slightly, and she seems to bristle. ‘About what?’

 

‘Everything. Everything that happened with the wishing star’. Her throat feels like it’s burning, like the anger inside her chest is consuming her, but the backs of her eyes are prickling with something else. ‘About Indigo’. 

 

Hecate flinches, and Pippa watches her struggle, watches the way her mouth turns down and her eyes go dark and sad. The woman looks away from her, stares at the floor like she’s expecting some kind of admonishment, and her voice wavers a little when she says, ‘she had no right to tell you’. 

 

‘Maybe not’, Pippa murmurs, stepping closer slowly, wary of startling the other woman, ‘but I’m glad she did’. 

 

Hecate’s throat works, and she says, ‘why did she tell you?’ 

 

‘She was disturbed, and needed someone to talk to’. 

 

Hecate fidgets, and lifts her hands to clutch at her watch. ‘Well, after what happened with Julie Hubble, it -’ 

 

‘It wasn’t that. Not solely’. 

 

Hecate blinks, and Pippa can almost see her withdrawing into herself. ‘Well, I… what happened with Indigo was… understandably…’ her jaw clenches, and she trails off, her thin shoulders stiff beneath her dress. 

 

Pippa reaches out, and touches her arm. ‘It wasn’t that, Hecate. Not really. I’m talking about… what happened to you’. 

 

Hecate looks up at her finally, and Pippa feels her heart clenches at the confusion in her face. Thunder rumbles over head, and Hecate murmurs, ‘I… what?’

 

‘She’s disturbed by the fact that you’ve been imprisoned here for over thirty years’. 

 

Hecate opens her mouth, and something shutters behind her eyes. She swallows, and mumbles, ‘it’s not a prison’. 

 

‘Hecate, you can’t  _ leave _ ’. Her own voice trembles, and as much as she wants to stay strong for Hecate, as much as she wants to speak clearly, as  _ angry _ as she is, she’s also utterly devastated. ‘What else is that but a prison?’

 

Hecate’s lips press into a thin line, and she whispers, ‘it’s my home’. 

 

‘A home you can never leave?’ 

 

A tremor seems to run through Hecate’s body, and she murmurs, ‘Pippa…’ 

 

It sounds almost like a plea, and the backs of Pippa’s eyes burn. She takes a shuddering breath, and whispers, ‘Mildred told me that you made sure Ada didn’t punish her’. 

 

Hecate’s fingers twist together over her watch. ‘I… it was a mistake, but she… she understood. She didn’t deserve…’ 

 

‘Your punishment?’ 

 

Hecate goes very still and pale, and despite how tall she is, she suddenly looks very small. She looks down at her hands, twisted around the chain of her watch, and Pippa watches her with her heart in her mouth. ‘I… I deserved it’. 

 

‘Hecate -’ 

 

‘I took her life away, Pippa’. Her knuckles are turning white, and there’s a tremble in her shoulders that might be from tension, or something else. ‘For my own selfish reasons. I… Mildred was trying to give Julie back something that was… rightfully hers. And in the end…’ her throat works, and it’s been a long time since Pippa has seen her this undone. ‘There was no permanent harm done, but Indigo… she was a child’. 

 

‘So were you’. 

 

‘Pippa -’ 

 

Pippa steps forwards, and grasps Hecate’s hands. Hecate seems to stop breathing, and Pippa doesn’t look at her, instead concentrating on carefully untangling the chain from Hecate’s fingers. There are marks pressed into her skin, and Pippa whispers, ‘you were thirteen, Hecate. No child deserves the punishment you were given’. She scoffs, a choked, humourless sound. Her face feels wet. ‘It’s  _ sick _ ’. 

 

There’s a rumble above them, and the heavens open. 

 

Hecate looks up at the sound, and her eyes widen when she sees the tears on Pippa’s cheeks. She opens her mouth, closes it, and glances over her shoulder at the torrential downpour outside as rain lashes against the windows. Her eyes are very wide, and she whispers, ‘Pippa…’ 

 

Pippa lifts a hand to wipe at her cheeks, and mutters, ‘sorry’. She knows that Hecate hates displays of uncontrolled magic. ‘I just… I can’t believe you’ve been trapped here for this long’. 

 

Hecate looks away. Her fingers twitch, and all at once, she’s clutching Pippa’s hands so tightly it almost hurts. Her lower lip trembles, and Pippa gives her hands a squeeze. Hecate inhales sharply, and whispers, ‘I’m sorry. For all those times I couldn’t come to Pentangles, I’m sorry’. 

 

Pippa’s heart aches. ‘It’s not your fault, Hecate. You  _ couldn’t _ come’. She bites lip, and murmurs, ‘why didn’t you tell me?’

 

Hecate swallows, and it seems to take her a great effort. She breathes out shakily, and says, so quietly Pippa almost can’t hear her, ‘I… I didn’t want you to find out. I… I didn’t want you to think that… that I…’ 

 

A terrible certainty settles on Pippa’s shoulders, and she reaches out to touch Hecate’s cheek, so lightly it’s barely there, but Hecate shivers. ‘That you deserved it?’ 

 

Hecate nods, and anger cracks in her heart to bleed into her anguish. ‘You always believed the best in me’. 

 

‘I still do’. 

 

Hecate presses her lips together, and shakes her head. ‘Please don’t humour me’. 

 

‘I’m not’. Pippa wavers, and then reaches out to take Hecate’s face in her hands. Hecate freezes, staring at her blankly, and Pippa has to clear her throat several times before she can speak again. ‘I’m not, I promise’. 

 

Hecate stands there with her hands limp by her sides, staring her with faintly glassy eyes. ‘Pippa… the punishment was just. I took her whole life away from her’. 

 

‘So it’s okay that they took away yours?’ 

 

Hecate opens her mouth, and shuts it again. She inhales shakily, and Pippa feels her hands settle on her waist, her fingers curl tight in her dress, and bites her lip. ‘Hecate… what if it had been me?’ Something like panic flares in Hecate’s eyes, and Pippa gentles her voice. ‘I mean, what if I’d turned Indigo to stone? If I’d been… confined to Cackles for the rest of my life, as punishment?’

 

Hecate stares at her for a moment, and looks away. Her lower lip trembles, and a shudder runs through her body. ‘It’s a pointless question, Pippa. It wasn’t you’. 

 

‘But’, Pippa presses, ‘if it had been?’

 

Hecate closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath, and whispers, ‘I would do everything I could to free you’. 

 

‘Then how can you expect me to feel any different?’ 

 

‘I…’ Hecate seems to flounder, as if she’s lost for words, and Pippa leans in to press their foreheads together. Hecate inhales sharply, and her fingers curl tighter in Pippa’s dress. ‘I don’t…’ 

 

‘You’re worth caring about, Hecate. You always have been’. 

 

Hecate makes a strangled sound like she doesn’t quite believe her, and Pippa isn’t really surprised anymore. The woman has been confined here for over thirty years, made to believe that she deserved nothing more than punishment and isolation, and thunder rumbles ominously overhead. Pippa shifts, and draws Hecate into her arms, holding her tight against her chest, and whispers, ‘I’m so sorry’. 

 

Hecate’s arms loop tightly around her waist, and she ducks her head against Pippa’s shoulder. Pippa cups the back of her head, and closes her eyes as Hecate trembles in her arms. ‘I pushed you away’, Hecate whispers, and her voice sounds thick and choked, ‘because I knew you would leave, and that you’d find out that I couldn’t. I thought...’ 

 

Lightning strikes so close that Pippa forces herself to take a deep breath, rubbing her hand up and down Hecate’s back gently. ‘It’s alright. It’s not your fault’. 

 

‘I wanted to go after you’, Hecate croaks, unable to stop speaking even as Pippa’s dress turns damp with tears, as if something has cracked open within her, ‘so many times. But I couldn’t’. 

 

Pippa pulls back and cups Hecate’s cheek, smoothing her thumb over her cheekbone, and says fiercely, ‘listen to me, Hecate. It is not your fault, alright?’

 

Hecate leans into her hands, her cheeks wet and pale, and she looks so sad that Pippa feels as if there’s a knife twisting in her chest. ‘The blame for Indigo’s fate rests squarely with me’. 

 

‘Maybe. But you’ve been punished enough for it’. She grips Hecate’s shoulder with her free hand, and whispers, ‘and I promise you, I’ll find a way to break this curse, alright? Even if I have to threaten Alma Cackle to do it’. 

 

Something flickers over Hecate’s face, and she looks intensely uncomfortable. Pippa drops her hand from the woman’s face, thinking that she might have pushed the contact for too long, but Hecate doesn’t release her grip on Pippa’s dress. The woman’s mouth twists, and she murmurs, ‘it’s not… Alma’.

 

Pippa frowns. ‘What do you mean?’ 

 

Hecate shifts slightly, and she’s not making eye contact with her. ‘The ability to… lift my imprisonment lies with the Headmistress of Cackles. Regardless of who that is specifically’. 

 

There’s a snap of lightning, and the room fills with white, too sharp and too bright and Pippa sees red when it fades away. She can taste metal in her mouth, and there’s sparks on her skin, her magic crackling around her like the rage that just surged up in her throat. ‘Are you telling me’, she says, and her voice sounds so calm she barely recognises it, ‘that Ada can lift the curse, but hasn’t?’ 

 

Hecate swallows tightly. ‘I’ve never asked’. 

 

‘And she’s never offered?’ 

 

Hecate hesitates, and shakes her head. ‘It’s… it’s not like that’. 

 

‘It’s not?’ 

 

‘No, I… when I graduated, Ada… she convinced Alma to let me become an apprentice to Miss Ambrosia’.

 

‘Our old potions’ mistress’.  Pippa remembers hearing that Hecate had been taken on, remembers being surprised that she’d decided to stay. She’d had so many things she’d wanted to do. It makes her sick, to remember now. To know it had never been her own decision. ‘I remember’. 

 

Hecate nods jerkily. ‘She retired after a while, and I… took over. And when Ada became headmistress, she… she knew I liked teaching. I think she just… assumed I was happy’. 

 

Pippa takes a shuddering breath, focuses on the feel of Hecate’s dress under her hands, and counts to five in her head. She exhales slowly, and reaches up to touch Hecate’s cheek. ‘Were you?’

 

Hecate’s mouth wobbles like she’s trying to smile, but it looks painful and sad. ‘I haven’t been happy in a long time’. 

 

Pippa closes her eyes, and pulls Hecate back into her arms. Hecate goes willingly, rests her cheek against her shoulder, and sags against her. Pippa holds her tightly, and slides her hand up to cup the back of Hecate’s neck. Her skin feels cold and smooth under her fingers. ‘I’m going to fix this, alright? I’ll talk to Ada’. 

 

‘I… I don’t know if that’s a good idea’. 

 

‘You don’t have to come’. 

 

Hecate is silent for a moment. Then she whispers, ‘I don’t know how to ask’. 

 

Pippa’s ribs constrict until it’s hard to breathe, and she squeezes Hecate tightly. ‘You won’t have to’. 

 

* * *

 

They materialise into Ada’s office together, and Hecate lets go of her hand immediately. Pippa watches her grasp at her watch out of the corner of her eye, and turns her attention to Ada. 

 

The woman is seated in front of the fire, a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits beside her, and she looks up with a faintly curious expression. ‘Hecate, Miss Pentangle, I was beginning to wonder if something was wrong’. 

 

Anger flares in Pippa’s chest, and the fire leaps up the chimney. ‘Something  _ is _ wrong’. 

 

Ada blinks, and sits up straighter, her brow furrowing in concern. ‘Oh? What is it? Can I help?’ 

 

‘Yes’. Pippa curls her fingers into fists, and snaps, ‘the curse, binding Hecate here. Lift it’. 

 

Ada stares at her, and her eyes flick quickly to Hecate, who seems to tense beside Pippa. She stands slowly, and says, ‘but… this is Hecate’s home’. 

 

‘And everyone should be able to leave their home’. Pippa can hear the edge to her own voice, can feel her magic crackling over her hands, and she forces herself not to move towards the other woman. ‘If they can’t, it’s no more than a prison’. 

 

Ada stands up very quickly, her glasses glinting oddly in the firelight, and she says sternly, ‘Cackles is not a prison’. 

 

‘Then let her go’. 

 

Ada looks at Hecate, and there’s an almost pleading note to her voice when she says, ‘I don’t understand. I thought you enjoyed teaching here. That you’re happy’. 

 

Hecate’s fingers twist in the chain of her watch, and she stares at the floor by Ada’s feet. ‘I have’. 

 

‘But you want to leave?’ 

 

Hecate swallows tightly, and she seems to shrink in on herself. ‘I want… the chance to’. 

 

Ada bites her lip, wrings her hands together, and says, ‘alright. If that is what you wish’. 

 

Hecate looks up, and meets Pippa’s eyes. Pippa smiles, as gently as she can, and Hecate takes a deep breath. ‘It is’. 

 

‘I see’. Ada sinks back into her armchair, the corners of her mouth turned down, and closes her eyes. 

 

Magic fills the air, and Pippa steps back slightly until she’s standing beside Hecate, and reaches out to place her hand lightly on the woman’s back. Hecate shivers, and leans in to her, their shoulders pressing together, and Pippa rubs her back gently. A faint glow shimmers around Hecate’s body, burns hot against Pippa’s hand, and winks out of existence all at once. 

 

Hecate sags, drops like strings holding her up have been cut, and Pippa grabs onto her to stop her from falling, panic snapping up through her spine like the lightning that flashes outside. ‘Hecate?!’ 

 

Hecate grasps at her arms to steady herself, and leans heavily against her. ‘I’m… I’m alright’. 

 

Pippa loops her arms around Hecate’s waist, pulls her up against her body to steady her, and says, ‘what’s wrong?’ 

 

‘Long term curses can have side effects’, Ada says anxiously, ‘even when they’re lifted’. 

 

‘I’ll be fine’, Hecate mutters, ‘I just need some rest’. 

 

Pippa swallows past the fear in her throat, and says, ‘hold not on to me, alright?’

 

Hecate nods, and Pippa gathers her magic, and transfers them to Hecate’s room. Hecate staggers a little, but Pippa holds her upright and leads her carefully to bed. The woman huffs, and mumbles, ‘I’m not an invalid’. 

 

‘Oh, I know’. Pippa kneels in front of her, looking up into her face, and murmurs, ‘are you alright?’ 

 

Hecate stares at her for a moment, and her chin trembles. ‘I don’t… know what to do’, she says finally, and her voice sounds strangled, ‘I… how can I leave? This place is… all I’ve ever known’.

 

Pippa reaches out to grip her hands. She gives her a small smile, and whispers, ‘the point is that you can, now, if you want’. 

 

Hecate’s lips press into a thin line. ‘Where would I go?’ 

 

‘Anywhere you want’. 

 

Hecate looks down at their joined hands. She shifts her hands, and links their fingers together. She says nothing, and Pippa strokes her thumb back and forth over Hecate’s knuckles, trying to reassure her while giving her a moment to herself. Then Hecate exhales sharply, and whispers, ‘I want to go’. 

 

Pippa nods. ‘When you’re -’  

 

‘No. Now’. 

 

Pippa looks up, and her heart twists. Hecate is looking at her almost desperately, her eyes bright, her mouth turned down at the corners. She swallows, and murmurs, ‘where?’ 

 

‘I don’t know. Anywhere’. Hecate squeezes her hands tightly. ‘Please’. 

 

Pippa holds Hecate’s gaze, and says, ‘alright. Hold on to me’. 

 

She rises, and steps forwards to wrap her arms around Hecate’s shoulders. Hecate inhales sharply, and leans into her, pressing her face against her stomach, her fingers curling tight in her dress, and Pippa closes her eyes. She cups the back of Hecate’s head, and listens to the storm outside, lets her magic curl out to wrap around them, and focuses. 

 

There’s a flash of lightning, and they vanish. 

 

* * *

 

Pippa releases Hecate the moment they land, pleased to see that she managed to transfer them exactly so that Hecate is still seated comfortable. She kneels again, and reaches up to touch Hecate’s cheek. ‘Was that alright?’ 

 

Hecate blinks at her slowly, looking at little dazed, and leans into her hand with a nod. Her gaze drifts away from Pippa and around the room, and her brow furrows slightly. ‘Where are we?’

 

‘Pentangles. My room, to be precise’. 

 

Hecate stares at her, and her exhaustion seems momentarily swept away by astonishment. ‘How did you do that? Such a long distance transfer… you barely seem affected’. 

 

Pippa gives her hand a squeeze, and stands, moving towards the small table beside the chairs in front of her fireplace to conjure some tea. ‘I used the energy stored in the storm above Cackles to get us here’. 

 

‘That’s… unusual’. 

 

‘Most modern magic is’. Pippa returns carrying a cup of tea, prepared just the way Hecate likes it, and sits beside her to press it into her hands. ‘Here’. 

 

She sits a little away from Hecate, giving her a little space, and watches Hecate sip the tea slowly. Her hands tremble, and her lips press together in a thin line, like she’s frustrated with herself. She closes her eyes, and Pippa reaches out to touch her shoulder gently. ‘How’re you feeling?’ 

 

Hecate shrugs slightly, and she’s gripping the cup so tightly her knuckles are turning white, like she’s trying to stop herself from shaking by sheer force of will. ‘I… I’m tired’. 

 

Pippa slides her hand to Hecate’s back, and gently strokes between her shoulder blades. She wants to ask how Hecate’s feeling about finally being able to leave, about having the curse lifted, about everything, but there’s tension in Hecate’s jaw that tells her it would be a bad idea. 

 

So instead, she says softly, ‘why don’t I get you some pyjamas, and you get some sleep? We can sort things out in the morning’. 

 

Hecate turns her head to look at her, and stares at her for a long moment. She looks drained and exhausted, her eyebrows inclined at the centre, and Pippa almost thinks she looks confused. She half expects the woman to protest, but instead she just says, ‘where will I sleep?’

 

‘Here’. Pippa waves her hand at her large bed, cream sheets edged in soft pink, and smiles gently. ‘Not too pink for you, I think’. 

 

Hecate’s lips twitch, but she frowns. ‘What about you?’

 

‘I have some marking to get through, and you need the rest’. 

 

It’s a mark of how exhausted Hecate is that she doesn’t resist, her stubborn nature worn down by the enormity of what’s happened. Instead, she nods, and leans into her side with a sigh. She closes her eyes, and murmurs, ‘thank you’. 

 

Pippa presses a gentle kiss to her cheek, and says, ‘you’re welcome’. 

 

* * *

 

Pippa wakes all at once. She blinks awake to find herself in her own bed, in a pair of her pyjamas, and sits up slowly, rubbing at her eyes. She doesn’t remember moving to her bed, which means that it must’ve been Hecate. 

 

Hecate. 

 

Pippa sits up properly, and looks around, stilling when she spots Hecate standing by her window. She has a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and her long hair is loose down her back. The moonlight casts her features in sharp relief, and Pippa’s breath catches in her throat. 

 

‘Hecate?’ 

 

Hecate starts, and turns to look at her. ‘Oh, Pippa. I’m sorry to wake you’. 

 

‘It’s alright’. Pippa slides from the bed, and approaches her slowly. ‘What are you doing?’ 

 

‘Listening’. 

 

‘Listening?’ 

 

Hecate tilts her head, and closes her eyes. Pippa watches her, and it takes a moment to understand what Hecate is listening to. 

 

Pentangles sits beside the sea. 

 

‘You’ve never… seen the ocean, have you?’

 

Hecate shakes her head. The corners of her mouth are pinched, and she looks pained. ‘No, I… the sound woke me. I wasn’t sure what it was’. 

 

Pippa’s heart aches, and she bites her lower lip. She wants to ask Hecate how she is, how she’s feeling, but she knows that Hecate has never been very good with pity. Instead, she leans against the wall beside the window, and says softly, ‘do you like it?’

 

Hecate blinks at her. ‘What?’

 

‘The sound, of the sea. Do you like it?’

 

Hecate stares at her for a moment, and turns her gaze out the window. Strands of her dark hair look silver in the moonlight, and she stays silent for so long that Pippa wonders if she’ll reply at all. But then Hecate takes a deep breath that lifts her shoulders, and she grips the blanket tighter around her shoulders. ‘I think I do’. 

 

Pippa smiles, and extends her hand. ’Trust me?’

 

She says it lightly, as if the answer won’t utterly change everything. Hecate glances at her, her brow furrowed slightly. She shifts to hold the blanket closed with one hand, and takes Pippa’s hand. Her hand is cool and soft, and Pippa swallows tightly. ‘Of course I do’. 

 

Pippa sucks in a sharp breath, and hopes that Hecate can’t see the way her eyes have suddenly filled with tears in the dark. Her heart jumps up into her mouth, and she squeezes Hecate’s hand, and her voice trembles a little when she says, ‘alright. Then hold on’. 

 

She gathers her magic around them, and waves her hand. The materialise together onto the wooden boardwalk that runs along the beach, and Hecate makes a strange, strangled sound at the back of her throat, and grips her hand tighter. 

 

The sand looks white under the light of the moon, sweeping in a gentle slope down towards the shore. The sea is calm in the sheltered bay, deep and dark as it extends towards the horizon, and the only thing to be heard is the sound of the gentle waves lapping against the shore. 

 

Pippa turns her head to look at Hecate, and her heart clenches in her chest at the look on her face. There’s awe, there in her eyes, but something else, too, something deep and sad and devastated, and Pippa whispers, ‘Hecate?’

 

Hecate sucks in a sharp breath, and breathes, ‘it’s… beautiful’. 

 

Pippa manages a wobbly smile, and murmurs, ‘it is’. 

 

Hecate turns to look at her, and she must see something in Pippa’s face, because her cheeks darken, and she looks away again. Pippa turns her gaze out towards the sea, not wanting to make Hecate uncomfortable by staring at her, and lets her vision blur as she stares at the waves. ‘I always come here’, she murmurs, ‘whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed, or if I’ve had a bad day. Sometimes I go for a swim, sometimes I just… sit. It always makes me feel better, somehow’. 

 

Hecate’s hand twitches, but she doesn’t pull away. Instead, she takes a shaky breath, and whispers, ‘I’m scared’. 

 

It’s said so quietly that Pippa wonders for a moment if she’s misheard her, but when she turns to look at Hecate, there are tears shining on her cheeks. Pippa inhales sharply, and waves her hand, transporting them away from the beach and back to her chambers. She flicks her fingers to light a fire in the hearth, and guides Hecate to sit in an armchair. Hecate watches her without speaking, and when Pippa is finished she sinks to her knees in front of Hecate, and squeezes her hands tightly. ‘Why are you scared?’ 

 

Hecate stares down at their hands, her brow furrowed tightly. Her long hair spills over her shoulders like ink in water, and Pippa squeezes her fingers in encouragement. Hecate swallows, and whispers, ‘it’s been over thirty years, Pippa. I was a  _ child _ when it happened. I don’t…’ her mouth twists, and when she looks up, there’s such a lost look in her eyes that Pippa feels tears burn her throat. ‘I feel like a witch without a broom’. 

 

‘Hecate, you’re the witchest witch I know. Always have been. Even when you weren’t so devoted to the rules and the Code’. Pippa smiles gently. ‘You’ve always been touched by magic in a way that is special’. She reaches out to touch Hecate’s chest, her fingers pressing lightly against her sternum, and Hecate goes very still. ‘You’re special. You’ll be alright’. 

 

Hecate blinks at her, and frowns slightly. ‘I… what will I do? Teaching at Cackles is… it’s all I know’. 

 

Pippa squeezes her hand. ‘There are other schools, Hecate. Places that would welcome you. And… you could always go back, one day’. She can hear the edge of reluctance in her voice, because of the idea of Hecate returning to a place where she was trapped for so long makes her feel ill, but she has to say it. Hecate has to know that she’s not cut off from the only thing she knows. ‘You’ll just have the freedom to leave, this time’. 

 

Hecate looks down at their hands again, and murmurs, ‘I don’t… I don’t know if I’m a very good teacher, Pippa’. 

 

Pippa blinks, thrown by the sudden statement. ‘What? Of course you are. You’re the most talented potions -’ 

 

‘I know my craft’, Hecate says, ‘I know it… better than anything. But I…’ her brow furrows, and something hollow glints in her eyes. ‘I can be cruel, Pippa. I can be harsh, and impatient, and… I’ve said unforgivable things, to  _ children _ ’. Her lips press together in a thin line, and her shoulders quake. ‘That’s not good’. 

 

Pippa regards her silently for a moment, before she takes a deep breath, and says, ‘no. It’s not’. Hecate flinches, and Pippa ducks her head to catch Hecate’s gaze. ‘But sometimes, when we’re unable to deal with something that has happened to us, and unable to heal from it, when we’re reminded of it every day, we’re not good. We don’t handle things well. We take it out on people who don’t deserve it’. Hecate stares back at her, something almost desperate in her face, like she needs what Pippa is saying to be true. ‘It’s not good, and it can’t be excused, but it is explainable. It’s not an indication that we ourselves are terrible people. We can be better’. 

 

Hecate’s lower lip wobbles, and she inhales shakily. ‘Why do you have so much faith in me?’ 

 

Pippa smiles. ‘Remember how we first met?’ 

 

Hecate blinks, and she nods slowly. ‘Of course’. Her eyes flick down, past Pippa’s lips towards the hollow of her throat, and she reaches out to touch the necklace that sits against her chest. Her fingers are cool, but heat blossoms from the small contact. ‘You lost this, and you asked me to help find it’. 

 

Pippa swallows tightly. ‘I thought you’d think it was stupid. That you’d laugh at me. It was just a necklace, and I was practically sobbing about it. But you didn’t. You helped me look’. 

 

Hecate hasn’t removed her hand, and she’s staring at her very intently now. ‘I… understood how much a thing could be meaningful’. 

 

Pippa brushes her fingers against Hecate’s pocket watch, and then lifts her hand to cover Hecate’s against her chest. ‘It was more than that. You’re  _ kind _ , Hecate. You care. You always have’. 

 

Hecate’s brows inclines upwards, and she ducks her head. She takes a shaky breath. ‘I’m still frightened’. 

 

Pippa squeezes her hand, and murmurs, ‘there is no weakness in being frightened, Hecate. We’ve all been frightened before, especially of the unknown’. Hecate looks up at her again, and Pippa smiles softly. ‘But you won’t be alone’. 

 

‘Oh?’

 

Pippa shakes her head. ‘No. You’ll have me’. Her heart spasms, uncertainty twisting up in her throat, and she swallows tightly. ‘If you’d like that, that is’. 

 

Hecate stares at her. For the first time that night, it’s difficult to read her expression. She swallows, a muscle twitching in her jaw, and says, ‘I don’t… I… surely you haven’t more important things to do’. 

 

Pippa bites her lip, forcing herself to push past the insecurity that sparks in her chest. ‘Nothing more important than helping you’. 

 

‘Pentangles -’ 

 

‘Can survive without me for a time’. Pippa squeezes her hand. ‘I trust my deputy. She’s a remarkably capable woman’. Hecate’s mouth twists, and despite the insecurity bubbling in her chest, Pippa senses that Hecate might be feeling something of the same. She offers the woman a gentle smile. ‘Do you know why I decided to build Pentangles?’ 

 

‘I… no’. 

 

‘I wanted to build a school where everyone was accepted. Where no one had to be afraid of fitting in’. She meets Hecate’s gaze steadily. ‘I saw what it did to you, when people started to shun you’. 

 

Hecate stares at her, and for a long moment, Pippa wonders if she’s said too much. Hecate blinks rapidly, opens her mouth, and then her fingers curl in Pippa’s sleep shirt, and she tugs her forwards, and kisses her. 

 

Pippa lips part in surprise, heat surging up in her chest as Hecate makes a sound like a whimper, and Pippa inhales sharply, and pulls back while she still has the mental capacity to do so. Hecate blinks at her, her eyes a little glazed, and heat flames up in her cheeks as something like shame curls behind her eyes. ‘I apologise, I -‘ 

 

Pippa kisses her again. There are things she needs to say, but she has to silence that uncertainty before it grows, because she wants this, wants  _ Hecate _ , and has for so long it almost hurts, an ache in her chest that finally feels soothed. Hecate’s fingers tighten in her shirt, and she kisses her back desperately, a hint of teeth against her lips, and Pippa has to pull herself away again. ‘I’m not rejecting you’, Pippa whispers, reaching out to cup Hecate’s cheek, stroking her thumb over her cheekbone, ‘and you have nothing to apologise for. I’ve wanted that for a long time’. 

 

Hecate blinks at her, a faint frown furrows her brow. ‘But?’

 

Pippa bites her lip. ‘But I don’t… you’ve had a difficult few days, and you’re probably feeling very vulnerable right now. I don’t… I don’t want to take advantage of that. I don’t want you to wake up tomorrow and regret… that’. 

 

Hecate’s frown deepens, and she scoffs. ‘You could never take advantage of me’. 

 

‘Hecate -’ 

 

Hecate places a finger against her lips, and Pippa goes very still. Hecate swallows, licks her lips, and says, ‘I have never felt anything but safe with you, Pipsqueak’. 

 

Pippa inhales sharply, and when she blinks, tears escape to run down her cheeks. Hecate looks almost alarmed, and she lifts her free hand to wipe them away carefully. Pippa manages a laugh, and tilts her head to press a kiss to the inside of Hecate’s palm. ‘I’m glad’. She holds Hecate’s hand to her face, and says softly, ‘I just… I want you to feel okay. With me’. 

 

Hecate’s mouth twitches. ‘I do’. Her smile curves a little wider. ‘Now what was that about wanting to kiss me for a while?’ 

 

Pippa laughs, and bites her lip. ‘Isn't It rather self explanatory?’ She hesitates, uncertainty curling in her throat, but Hecate kissed  _ her _ , she reached out despite being afraid, despite a life that has weighed her down, and so she smiles, and says, ‘I've wanted to kiss you for as long as I've loved you’.

 

Hecate’s eyes widen, and she stares down at her with something close to shock, the firelight glinting in the tears filling her eyes, and she whispers, ‘I… you love me?’

 

Pippa smiles, and kisses her palm again. ‘Always have. Always will’.

 

Hecate squeezes her eyes hut, and Pippa reaches out to stroke a few strands of hair away from her face. Hecate trembles, slips from the armchair to kneel in front of her, and buries her face in Pippa’s shoulder. Pippa wraps her arms tightly around the woman’s thin frame, and turns her face into her hair. Hecate shudders, and mumbles, ‘you deserve so much better than me’. 

 

‘Hecate -’ 

 

‘It’s true’. Her grip tightens to an almost painful degree. ‘You’re so wonderful and I’m… I’m…’ 

 

Her breath hitches, and Pippa pulls back to take Hecate’s tear stained face in her hands. Her long hair tangles around Pippa’s fingers, and Pippa leans in to press their foreheads together. ‘You’re a good person, Hiccup’. 

 

‘I’m not… I… Indigo lost her life because of me’. 

 

Pippa sighs, and nudges her nose against Hecate’s cheek. ‘Maybe she doesn’t have to stay that way’. 

 

Hecate pulls back to look at her, her face streaked with tears, strands of hair sticking to her cheeks, and mumbles, ‘what?’

 

Pippa conjures a handkerchief, and gently wipes at her face. ‘She’s petrified, Hecate, not dead. There’d be a way to reverse the spell’. 

 

Hecate blinks. ‘But… she’d be too dangerous’. 

 

Pippa shakes her head. ‘She was a child with no way of controlling her new powers. If she had guidance, it might be another story’. 

 

‘Who would teach her?’ Hecate’s expression crumbles. ‘I couldn’t do it’. 

 

Pippa hums softly, and tucks the stray strands of hair away behind her ears. ‘No one would make you. It wouldn’t be appropriate, anyway’. She smiles softly. ‘There are many children here who have come from unconventional witching families. If she wanted, I could give her a place here’. She huffs a laugh. ‘And there’d be no need to tell the Great Wizard the truth’. 

 

Hecate stares at her. ‘You… you’d do that?’

 

Pippa nods. ‘She’s a child who has been trapped by something beyond her control. She should be free’. Pippa presses a kiss to Hecate’s cheek. ‘Just like you’. 

 

Hecate bites her lip. ‘What if she can’t control it, and… causes some kind of disaster?’ 

 

Pippa smiles slightly. ‘From the way you describe it, Mildred Hubble causes at least one disaster a day, and you’ve dealt with them all easily. I’m sure I can do the same’. 

 

Hecate takes a deep breath, and exhales slowly. ‘I suppose it’s all hypothetical, at this point’. 

 

‘It is. But, we can work something out’. Pippa presses a kiss to Hecate’s other cheek, and lets her lips linger there. ‘It’ll be alright’. 

 

Hecate heaves a sigh, and leans forward to press her face against her shoulder again. ‘How do you make that so easy to believe?’ 

 

Pippa lifts her hand to cup the back of Hecate’s head, and presses a kiss to her hair. ‘I don’t know. But I… I’m glad I help’. 

 

Hecate pulls back, and there’s something undefinable in her gaze. She stares at her for so long that Pippa can’t help but shift uncomfortably, glancing away from her and into the fire. Cool fingers brush over her chin, and Pippa looks at her quickly, surprised to see that there’s a faint blush darkening her cheeks. Hecate clears her throat, and says, ‘do you remember that day we spent in the woods, looking for ingredients because we didn’t want to use up the ones in the potions lab?’ 

 

Pippa laughs, acutely aware of the pressure of Hecate’s fingers against her chin, of the strange, soft gleam in Hecate’s eyes. ‘Miss Ambrosia agreed to let us use her lab if we used our own ingredients. Yes, I remember’. 

 

Hecate’s mouth twitches. ‘You were so busy looking for the hypnapillion, despite, I might add, the fact that it was believed to be extinct at the time, that you fell down a hill’. 

 

Pippa smiles. ‘I remember. You fell with me because you tried to stop me from falling’. She reaches out, and tweaks Hecate’s nose. ‘Without magic, I might add’. 

 

Hecate purses her lips, and her blush darkens. ‘I panicked’. 

 

Pippa shakes her head, still smiling, and says, ‘if you’re trying to remind me about all the leaves we spent trying to get out of our hair, you’re doing a marvellous job’. 

 

‘No, I…’ Hecate bites her lip. ‘When we sat up, after landing together, I…’ she swallows tightly. ‘That was the first time I wanted to kiss you’. 

 

Pippa gasps, almost dizzy with Hecate’s words, and whispers, ‘really?’ 

 

Hecate nods, and her eyes flick down to Pippa’s lips. She takes a trembling breath, and says, ‘I thought… I thought I was alone in my feelings’. She looks up again, and there’s something almost like awe in her eyes. ‘But you… you loved me, too’. 

 

Pippa’s heart leaps. ‘Too?’ 

 

The muscles in Hecate’s throat works, and Pippa reaches out to skim her fingers over the line of her jaw. She feels, rather than hears, her breath hitch, and Hecate breathes, ‘I love you, Pipsqueak, and I’ve been so foolish to -’ 

 

Pippa kisses her, her teeth catching on her lower lip, her fingers grasping at her neck and shoulders, because she doesn’t want to hear apologies or any of the self-deprecating things she knows are about to escape Hecate’s mouth. The woman moans, a strangled, high sound that traverses the length of Pippa’s spine to clench between her legs, and she decides she doesn’t care how many years its been, when it’s brought them to this. 

 

Hecate’s hands are on her hips, at her waist, clawing at her back, and she’s making a sound at the back of her throat that is making it difficult to think clearly. Pippa pulls back with a ragged gasp, and Hecate leans in after her, her fingers clutching at her so tight it almost hurts. ‘Hecate’, Pippa leans in to kiss her, softer, slower, and cups her cheek gently, ‘it’s alright. I’m not going anywhere’. 

 

Hecate rests their foreheads together, her warm breath fanning over Pippa’s cheek, and she murmurs, ‘so many things have happened today. So many things I never thought could happen. Impossible things’. 

 

Pippa swallows, and leans in to kiss her. ‘You’re free’, she whispers, her lips skimming over Hecate’s cheek, her jaw, settling against her pulse in her neck, ‘and I love you’.

 

Hecate whimpers, tilting her head to the side, and her pulse races against Pippa’s lips. ‘Pippa…’ 

 

Her body presses forwards, and Pippa shivers, pausing to rest her head against Hecate’s shoulder. She swallows, and whispers, ‘you really should rest’. 

 

Hecate shakes her head, and makes a sound a little too strangled to be a scoff. ‘I can rest later’. 

 

Pippa lifts her head, and bites her lip, her heart racing against her ribs, and says, ‘then what do you want?’ 

 

There’s colour high in Hecate’s cheeks, and Pippa feels a thrill of satisfaction at the confirmation that she was right. Pink really is a lovely colour on her. Hecate clears her throat, and her words are a little stilted when she says, ‘I… well, isn’t that obvious?’ 

 

Pippa feels her lips curve in a wide smile. But instead of teasing, she leans in to brush her lips over Hecate’s cheek, and exhales a breath against her ear. ‘Do you want me to touch you?’ 

 

Hecate shudders, and makes a high sound that curls tight between Pippa’s legs. She nods, a little frantically, clutching at Pippa’s back through her shirt, and chokes, ‘yes. Please’. 

 

The simple plea makes her hands tremble, and Pippa muffles a groan against her neck. ‘Okay, okay. I’ll take care of you’. 

 

She rises, and offers her hands to Hecate. The woman takes them, allows Pippa to pull her to her feet, and sways forwards against her body to press her face against her shoulder. Pippa swallows, and cups the back of her head, smoothing her hand down her soft, silky hair. Hecate’s breath fans out against her neck, and she murmurs, ‘Pippa’. 

 

Pippa presses a kiss to Hecate’s cheek, and says, ‘I’ve got you’. 

 

She pulls back, and with very little ceremony, sweeps Hecate up into her arms. Hecate squeeks, a surprisingly high sound, and grabs at her shoulders. ‘Pippa! Put me down’. 

 

Pippa strides towards the bed, and grins. ‘I told you I’d take care of you’. 

 

Hecate huffs as Pippa sets her down on the bed, her lips pursed despite the colour in her cheeks. ‘It’s undignified’. 

 

Pippa leans over her, and Hecate’s eyes widen as she presses their bodies together, her breath hitching as Pippa slowly presses them down against the bed. Some locks of hair escapes from her loose braid to fall down across her face, and Pippa huffs out a breath to blow them out of the way. She smiles down at Hecate, and murmurs, ‘well, it’s over now’. 

 

Hecate stares up at her, blinking slowly, and lifts a hand to tuck Pippa’s hair behind her ear. Her fingers trail along Pippa’s jaw, and she bites her lip. ‘You’re… I’ve always thought…’ she swallows, her voice quiet and a little stilted, like she’s stumbling over her words, ‘you’re beautiful’. 

 

Pippa’s heart melts, and she leans down to kiss Hecate softly. ‘So are you’. 

 

Hecate shifts underneath her, and her hands fall to Pippa’s hips. Pippa brushes Hecate’s long hair out of the way, and leans down to press soft kisses to the smooth column of her neck. Hecate’s breath hitches. ‘I’m not… 

 

‘Not what?’ Pippa opens up the top buttons on Hecate’s shirt, her lips skimming over the lines of her collarbones, and Hecate’s breathing turns shallow. ‘Beautiful?’

 

Hecate shakes her head, her hands pressing against her shoulders to pull her closer, fingers plucking at her shirt like she wants it gone. ‘I’m not like you’.

 

Pippa dips her tongue into the hollow of Hecate’s clavicle, and the woman moans. ‘You  _ are _ beautiful, Hecate. You’re gorgeous’. She lifts her head to look down at her, and her heart feels alight and full at the sight of her, her hair spread across the sheets, her cheeks flushed, gazing up at her with something like wonderment. Pippa traces her thumb over Hecate’s lower lip, and whispers, ‘will you let me show you how beautiful I know you are?’ 

  
Hecate shivers, and turns her head to kiss Pippa’s hand. She nods, her eyes deep and shining and so full of  _ trust _ , and Pippa leans in to kiss her deeply, overwhelmed with how much she loves her, and does just that. 

**Author's Note:**

> sooo i've been trying to write this since the bad magic ep, and it was meant to include smut at the end, but i just wasn't working on it anymore so i wanted to just post it. i'll probably add a bonus chapter with the smut because hecate really needs to be taken care of for a hot like, 4 decades
> 
> but anyway!!! hope u enjoyed


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